Trolley.



PATENTED OCT. ll, 1904. H. B. CLARKE.

TRULLEY.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 9, 1903.

No MODEL.

' UNITED STATES Patented October 11, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY B. CLARKE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TROLLEY SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 772,087, dated October 11, 1904.

Application filed November 9, 1903. Serial No. 180,382. (No model.)

T0 a/ZZ whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, HENRY B. CLARKE, a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolleys,of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to trolleys of that kind commonly used in conveying current from an overhead ltrolley-wire to a street-car and comprising a trolley-wheel mounted upon a resilient support and provided with means for catching and restoring the trolley-wire to the trolley-wheel incase the latter jumps the wire. i

Among the salient objects of the present invention are to provide a construction in which an automatically-restoring device is journaled alongside of the trolley-wheel, and contiguous to the restoring device is mounted a guard which is arranged to catch the trolley-wire in case the trolley-wheel jumps the wire and moves or is thrown laterally a substantial distance out of register with the trolley-wheel and restoring device; to provide a construction embodying a restoring-wheel provided with a spiral restoring-groove which in form combines a logarithmic and helicalspiral, the

construction being such that the trolley-wire is lifted or the trolley-wheel depressed very gradually during the restoring action, so that the frictional engagement of the wire with the restoring-wheel is ample to effect a certain positive rotation of the restoring-wheel, and therefore a certain restoration of the trolley-wire; to provide a construction in which the guards which coperate with the restoring-wheels are circular, rotative, and so constructed as to prevent possibility of positively engaging with the cross supportingwires of the trolley-wire during the onward movement of the trolley-pole, especiallywhen the trolley has completely jumped the wire; to provide a construction in which the trolley-wire at all times rests in good electrical contact with a current-conducting member, as well during the time it is being restored as while properly engaged with the trolley wheel, thereby avoiding arcing and consequent injury to the trolley; to provide a construction which is extremely simple, durable,

and the parts of which are readily accessible for inspection, oiling, &c.; to provide a construction which is both light and strong and in which the use of cast members for those parts subject to relatively great working stresses is avoided; to provide a construction in which the working bearings are practically dust and weather proof, while at the same time access to the main shaft for the purpose of oiling is easily had, and in general to provide an eflicient and durable construction of the character referred to.

To the above ends the invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and the invention will be readily understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a front elevation with parts in axial section of a trolley mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation as viewed from the right-hand side.

Referring to the drawings, l designates the upper end of a trolley-pole, which may be of any usual or suitable construction as to those parts other than its upper end and which is provided at its said upper end with a yoke or harp 2, comprising a tubular yoke-piece 3 and flat disk-shaped arms 4:, united with the yokepiece 3 by means of suitable shanks 5, fitting and secured within the ends of the yoke-piece.

6 designates as a whole the main shaft,

j which is supported at its ends within the diskshaped arms 4. Upon the central portion of the shaft 6 is journaled the trolley-wheel 7,

which may be of the usual orv any suitable f construction, and adjacent to each end of the trolley-wheel is mounted upon the shaft 6 a restoring-wheel 8. The restoring-wheels 8 are precisely similar except that they are reversely formed, or rights and lefts. Each restoring-wheel is provided in its periphery with a spirally-disposed groove 9, forming the periphery of the wheel, the general contour of the periphery of the restoring-wheel being that of a truncated cone with its larger diameter next the end of the trolley-wheel. The spiral groove 9 traverses the conical periphery of the wheel in such manner as to TOO I i N form a logarithmic spiral, which at the same time is helical and extends from that portion of the conical periphery which is of smallest diameter to that portion which is of largest diameter. Preferably, also, at the termination of the inner end of the spiral the restoring-wheel is provided with an extension 10,- extending outside of the main circle of the wheel, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, which extension the spiral groove traverses, as indicated in dotted line at 9'. pitch or inclination of the spiral groove is continued across this extension, so that the inner end of the spiral overhangs the groove of the trolley 7, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.1

rIhe upper peripheries of the supportingarms 4 are made approximately concentric and coincident with the smaller ends of the conical portions of the restoring-wheels; but their exposed upper edges 11 are inclined upwardly and outwardly, as seen in Fig. 1. Outside of each arm and journaled to rotate in close proximity to the same is mounted an outwardly-Haring guard-wheel 12, the periphery of which is conical and the inner edge of which periphery is coincident with the, inclined edge 11 of the supporting-arm. The

guard-wheels 12 may be made as wide as found desirable in practice, those shown herein being approximately equal to one-half the width of the trolley-wheel proper.

In the preferred construction shown herein the trolley-wheel proper is journaled loosely on the main shaft. The restoring-wheels are similarly mounted upon the main shaft and are provided at their outer sides with hublike extensions 13, which fit accurately within the bearing-apertures 14, formed in the arms 4, and are counterbored and internally threaded, as indicated at 15, to receive correspondingly-threaded hub projections 16, formed upon the guard-wheels. The guard-wheels are therefore xed to rotate with the restoring-wheels, the supporting-arms 4 being interposed between the two and lateral movement of the parts relatively to each other being prevented by engagement of the proximate faces of the restoring-wheels and guard- Wheels with the sides of said supporting-arms.

The main shaft is made hollow and provided with lubricating-apertures 17, one or both ends of the shaft being tted with screwplugs 18, which serve to confine the lubricant within the hollow shaft. Preferablystick or semisolid lubricant will be used, as indicated at 19. The shaft-apertures of the guardwheels preferably do not extend entirely through the latter, and said wheels are desirably made of shell form, so as to reduce their weight, hub projections 2O being provided at their outer sides. These hub projections are made polygonal, as indicated at 21, to afford Spanner-holds for adjusting the guard-wheels to position or removing the same.

The operation of the device will be obvious Moreover,Y the Y from the foregoing description, but may be briefly summarized as follows: In case the trolley-wheel strikes an obstruction or is for any other manner caused to jump the trolleywire it is almost certain to strike the wire upon the return movement, even though the trolley-wheel has meantime moved laterally a considerable distance out of register with the wire. In case the wire strikes either guardwheel the latter being free to turn and being inclinedinwardly will begin to rotate under the frictional engagement of the trolley-wire, and thus rapidly bring the trolley-wire into bearing with the groove of the restoringwheel. Thereupon the restoring-wheel will be rotated und er the frictional engagement of the trolley-wire, and the latter will rapidly traverse 'the length of the groove and drop back into the trolley-wheel. It will be particularly noted that the radial pitch of the spiral groove is relatively slight, so that the spiral extends more than once around the wheel. The effect of this construction is that the frictional engagement of the restoringwheel with the trolley-wire is ample to rotate the former and effect a prompt and certain restoration of the wire. By combining the outwardly-flaring guards with the relatively flat or axially short restoring-wheels I am able to make a construction which is short enough as a whole to readily pass through the ordinary bow-shaped trolley-supports in common use without contacting with the same.

In the construction described it will be seen that not only the trolley-wheel, but the restoring-wheels, guard-wheels, and yoke-arms or hub members are all in conducting contact with each other, so that the trolley is perfectly effective for conveying current whenever the wire engages with any of the members, and the wire may pass over or be transferred from one member to the other without arcing except for the brief instant when it drops from the inner end of the groove of the restoring-wheel to the trolley-wheel proper.

While I have herein shown what I deem to be a preferred embodiment of my invention,

IOO

IOS

yet within the broader scope of the invention a restoring-wheel provided in its periphery with a spiral groove which extends both logarithmically and helically across said periphery, journaled adjacent said trolley-wheel, and an upwardly and outwardly inclined guard mounted adjacent said restoring-wheel.

4. The combination with a trolley-wheel, of

. a restoring-wheel journaled adjacent thereto having a periphery of generally-truncated cone shape provided with a spiral groove traversing said periphery, an upwardlyand outwardly inclined guard mounted in proximity to the restoring-wheel and a trolley-framesupporting arm interposed between, and supporting the restoring-wheel and guard, the upper edge of said supportingarm being formed on `an incline coincident with the inclined surface of the guard, one end of the spiral groove of the restoring-Wheel terminating radially inside of, and adjacent to the inclined upper edge of the supporting-arm, and the other end of the spiral groove terminating above and overhanging the trolley-wheel, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a trolley-wheel, of(

a restoring-wheel journaled adjacent thereto having a periphery of generally-truncatedv cone shape provided with a spiral groove traversing said periphery, an upwardly and outwardly inclined rotary guard mounted in proximity to the restoring-wheel and a trolley frame supporting arm interposed between,and supporting the restoring-wheel and guard, the upper edge of said supporting-arm being formed on an incline coincident with the inclined surface of the guard, one end of the spiral groove of the restoring-wheel terminating radially inside of, and adjacent to the inclined upper edge of the supportingarm, and the other end ot' the spiral groove terminating above and overhanging the trolley-wheel, substantially as described.

6. In a trolley, the combination of a trolley-harp having tubular cross member and Hat 'disk-like supporting-arms connected with the ends of said tubular cross member, a shaft supported by said arms, a trolley-wheel journaled upon the central portion of said shaft, restoring-wheels journaled upon the shaft at each side of the trolley-Wheel and between the latter and therespective supporting-arms,and a guard-wheel journaled upon the shaft outside of, and adjacent to each supporting-arm, the upper end of each supporting-arm being formed iiush with the contiguous surfaces of the respective guard-wheels.

` 7 In a trolley, the combination with a harpframe and a supporting-shaft, of a trolleywheel journaled upon the central portion of said shaft, a restoring-wheel journaled upon the shaft at each side of said trolley-wheel, each restoring-wheel provided with a bearing extension fitting an aperture in the corresponding supporting-arm of the harp-frame, and guard-wheels mounted outside of the respective supporting-arms and detachably connected with the journal extensions of the restoring-wheels, substantially as described.

v HENRY B. CLARKE. Witnesses:

ALBERT H. GRAVES,

FREDERICK C. GOODWIN. 

